[Washington, DC] -- The Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal today refuted reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia was departing at the request of the Saudi government.

According to Prince Saud, “Robert Jordan served his country as Ambassador to the Kingdom with distinction at an important time in the relationship. While serving as Ambassador to the Kingdom, he earned the respect and trust of all the Saudi leadership. We appreciate all the work he has done to further the bilateral relationship. On a personal note, it was a pleasure to work with him.”

Prince Saud further stated that “reports that the Kingdom requested his departure are not true. On the contrary, given the important and constructive role he played as Ambassador, we had hoped that he would reconsider his decision, which was based solely on personal reasons. But, as friends we understand his desire to leave, and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”